


Luna

by 50251sid



Category: Borgias 2011, Borgias Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Blasphemy, Canon Era, Emotional Manipulation, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Religious Guilt, Seduction, Sexual Abuse, Surprise Ending, sexual predator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-25 00:16:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9793985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/50251sid/pseuds/50251sid
Summary: WARNING:  READERS ARE STRONGLY CAUTIONED. This work is absolutely not for everyone.  It is extremely blasphemous and could be disturbing and offensive to those who are sensitive regarding their religious beliefs.  It is not my intention to insult the sensibilities of anyone or to minimize the trauma of those who have suffered victimization by clergy members.  Please do not proceed if you might be offended.  Regards, sidWherein Cesare Borgia manipulates religious and Biblical references to seduce an innocent, unsuspecting young girl into having sex with him.





	

When Cesare Borgia emerged from the alehouse wherein he had spent the last three hours drinking, he squinted up at the night sky to admire the full moon in all her glorious beauty.  Her gentle radiance painted the quiet city a glowing silver, illuminating the open squares and streets of Rome, the rooftops and façades of the shops and small residences, but deepening the contrast between their brightness and the shadows which were cast by overhangs and recesses. 

Cesare paused for a moment to open his heavy woolen cloak, undo his codpiece and piss against the wall of a tailor’s workshop, yawning and shaking his head of thick, dark brown curls as he did so.  This February evening’s excursion to a drinking den was uncharacteristic of him, as he typically did his imbibing within his apartments at the Vatican. Tonight, however, he desired to discard his clerical skirt and don a black doublet and leggings and seek out companionship, boisterous and convivial, with men who bellowed bawdy songs and clapped each other on the back in cheery good humor.  He wanted noise and bonhomie and loud, unbridled laughter.  Anything other than the swish of the heavy silk robes of his fellow Cardinals in Consistory or the hushed chants of the choir who sang at Mass every day of his circumscribed, regulated, restricted, miserable life.

Having drained his kidneys, he tucked away his pike and began the walk back to the Vatican, humming the tune of an appallingly crude and delightfully vulgar ditty he had sung with the merry fellows in the alehouse.  He ambled along at a leisurely pace, unafraid in spite of the time of night and the abundance of dark alcoves which could provide hiding places for cutpurses and cutthroats.  For who would dare to accost Cesare Borgia, whose fearsome reputation with a sword was well-earned and amply proven?  Cesare Borgia, swordsman, scholar, Cardinal and Prince of the Church, whose sculpted face and long, splendid, athletic body were universally known among Romans both Patrician and Plebian?  It was hinted at in hushed whispers by Vatican gossips that the face in a famous painting of The Savior Himself had been copied from the sublime features of this bastard son of His Holiness Alexander VI.  Blasphemy?  Sacrilege?  Perhaps.  But entirely plausible.

The moonlight was so bright that he was easily able to make his way through the silent streets, picking a path among the piles of animal dung and discarded offal which dotted the lanes.  He stopped for a moment to roll his broad shoulders to ease their stiffness when, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a movement skittering across the alleyway between a market house and an artist’s studio. 

 “Stop,” he called out, his voice sharp and commanding. “Show yourself.”

The figure froze in place.  Cesare spoke again, dropping his hand to the hilt of the sword strapped to his hip.

“I know you’re there.  Come out at once.”

A shape detached itself from the stucco wall against which it had sought to hide and emerged into the bright moonlit road.  Cesare drew in a sharp breath when he saw that the late-night sojourner was a very young girl, not much more than a child, probably having barely entered her teens.  She was very small and wore the garb of a maidservant, with a white cap over her fair hair and a threadbare shawl around her slim shoulders.  Her little feet, peeking out from the hem of her coarsely woven drab brown skirt, were bare in the cold dust of the street. 

“Ho!” Cesare barked, astonished. “What possible reason could you have for walking abroad alone at this time of night?  Are you a whore?  A thief?”

The tiny figure bobbed a curtsey.

“Please, Sir, I am neither of those.  I meant no harm.  With your leave, I’ll be on my way.”

He beckoned to the girl to come closer.  He could see her begin to tremble, and not just from the chilly night air.  He softened his tone of voice.

“You don’t need to be afraid of me.”

Drawing her wrap more tightly around her, she timidly approached him, stopping just out of his reach.  Cesare’s mouth dropped open as he beheld her, for she was beautiful.  Her face was softly rounded, with luscious, rosy lips.  Her ivory skin was warmed by a peachy blush over her cheeks.  Her ragged shawl could not conceal the delicious curves of her bosom and sleek hips.  Her wide blue eyes were turned up to him, silently beseeching him not to hurt her.  His breath caught in his chest.

“What is your name, Girl?”

“If it please you, my lord, I am called Luna.”

“It does please me.  You are as radiant as your namesake up in the heavens.  But tell me why you are out on the street at this time of night.”

She lowered her head.

“Forgive me, but I may not, Your Eminence.”

“You know me, Luna?”

“All of Rome knows the great Cardinal Borgia.  Even one as lowly as I may dare to look upon you as you say Mass in the Cathedral.”

“Why do you speak so ill of yourself?  Why do you call yourself ‘lowly’?”

“I am a person of no consequence, Your Eminence.  Only a maidservant.”   

“You are an honest woman.  Not a whore.  Not a thief.  You have no reason to feel ashamed.”

The young girl had begun to shiver so violently that her teeth chattered.  Moving quickly, Cesare caught her hand and pulled her close to him, tucking her under his thick cloak.  She squeaked in terror like a mouse caught in the talons of a hawk, and the anguish in her tiny cry melted his heart.

“I won’t hurt you, Little One,” he murmured gently. “Tell me where you live and I will see you safely home.”

“You are kind, my lord, but I fear to return there tonight.  My master…my master is…”

Her voice trailed off.  Cesare tightened his arm around her trembling body.  She was so small that she did not even come up to his shoulder.

“Tell me, Luna.  What about your master?”

“He drank a great deal of wine this evening and became very drunk.  He…well, when he gets drunk, he demands that I… serve him.  Tonight my master was so drunk that he was unable to perform.  He ordered me to arouse him and I tried and tried, but I could not.  So he grabbed me by my wrist and began to beat me.  I managed to escape and ran from the house.  I am hoping that if I don’t return until morning, my master will have forgotten this night and will not want to beat me anymore.”

She began to softly weep.  Cesare closed his eyes and clenched his jaw.

“Your master uses you.”

“Just so.”

“For how long now?”

“For the two years I have been employed in his household.  My mother placed me there because she said she could no longer afford to feed me.  I had nowhere to go, so when my master began to demand…well, coward that I am, I submitted to him.  I am a maidservant, my lord, but I am no longer a maiden.  I am debauched.”

She raised desperate, imploring eyes to him.

“Your Eminence, might God be able to forgive me?  Might you be able to grant me absolution for my sins?”

He stopped walking and gazed down into the young girl’s upturned face, lifting his hand to caress her soft cheek.

“Luna, you need no absolution.  The sin is not yours, but your master’s.  He is the one who needs to repent.”

“But, my lord, I did not resist him.  I submitted.”

“You had no choice, Little One.  I say this to you with the authority of Holy Mother Church.  Your soul is without blemish.”

She dropped to her knees and kissed Cesare’s hand, weeping with gratitude.  He gently tugged her to her feet.

“It is far too cold for you to remain out of doors.  I will take you with me and shelter you for the night.”

“Oh, Your Eminence, no.  I must impose no more upon your kindness.”

“No imposition, Luna.  It is my holy duty to care for you.  You are a lamb of God and I am your shepherd.  Trust in me.”

When Luna’s bare feet became so painful from the cold that she began to limp, Cesare picked her up in his arms and carried her.  She clung to him, her arms about his neck, while he held his cape closely wrapped around her.  They arrived at the Vatican and entered quietly through a partly hidden door.  The soldier standing guard at the portal respectfully averted his eyes, accustomed to Cardinal Borgia’s comings and goings.  He could discern the outline of a small female form in Cesare’s arms beneath his cloak, but, being well-compensated by the exalted cleric for his discretion, “saw nothing.”  If His Eminence was bringing in a woman rendered unconscious by drink or potion or blow to the head, it was his own concern. 

Once inside and confident that they were unobserved, Cesare set Luna down on a bench in an alcove off of a narrow hallway and doffed his cloak, draping it around her and pulling the hood up over her head.

“Stay here,” he told her. “I am just going to find someone to make arrangements.  Speak to no one.  I’ll return shortly.

Huddled beneath the soft, warm wool, Luna stopped trembling as the chill left her body.  She took in the sumptuousness around her—the carpeted floors, the smoothly plastered walls hung with rich paintings and tapestries, the many fragrant candles that lit the nook in which she sat upon a heavy, beautifully carved and upholstered dark wood bench.  Could this be what Heaven looked like?  She jerked her head up when she heard footsteps and sighed in relief to see Cesare approaching.  He extended his hand to her and she stood and shyly laid her fingers in his palm.

“Come with me, Luna,” he said with a reassuring smile as he led her down the hallway.

“Where are we going, Your Eminence?”

“To my quarters.  I’ve ordered a good blaze to be set in the fireplace and food and drink brought in.”

“Your quarters, my lord?  Oh, but I am not worthy...”

He touched his fingers to her lips to silence her.

“Hush, Little One.  I won’t permit you to demean yourself.  Come along, now.  You must be weary.”

When Cesare escorted Luna into his apartment and shut the door behind them, he watched her as, open-mouthed, astounded, she turned around and around to take in the splendor of the Cardinal’s quarters, illuminated by sweet smelling beeswax candles and a crackling fire in the hearth.  Heavy needlework hangings depicting scenes of unicorns and virginal ladies covered the walls, along with vividly rendered portraits of deceased popes and gods of mythology.  In one shadowy corner of the vast room stood a huge, skillfully carved bed of elegant wood, surrounded by a canopy of thick black velvet draperies bearing the initials “CB” and the motto ‘Aut Caesar, Aut Nihil’ worked in gold thread over their entire length.  Lush Persian rugs covered the floors. 

“Your Eminence,” she whispered, repeating aloud her earlier thought. “This is surely as grand as Heaven itself.”

He chuckled and took her hand to lead her further into the room.

“You come close to blasphemy when you speak like that.”

She gasped and crossed herself.

“God forbid!  I meant no such thing.  But I could not imagine such richness and beauty to exist upon Earth.  Only in Heaven.  Perhaps, as a man of the cloth, living among such magnificence allows you feel closer to God, closer to Heaven.”

“Dear girl!  How charitable you are, ascribing a higher meaning to what is nothing more than the self-indulgence of a sybaritic man.  But come now, seat yourself near the fire.  Let me attend to your comfort.”

Cesare settled Luna into a large, upholstered chair that he turned towards the hearth.  He stunned her when he knelt before her with a marble basin of hot water and began to wash her feet.  Horrified, she attempted to jump up in startled protest.

“Your Eminence, you must not humble yourself so to me!”

“Did not Jesus Himself deign to wash the feet of his disciples?”

“They were holy men, Cardinal.  I am a great sinner …”

“Little Lamb, I have given you absolution and assured you that your soul is spotless.  Do you doubt my word?”

She lowered her head and spoke softly.

“No, my lord.”

“Then hush and let your shepherd tend his lamb.  I have had a chemise brought for you, and a warm dressing gown.  Go behind the screen over there and change into them.  Then you must have something to eat.”

Luna rose from the chair and crossed over to the hinged partition that Cesare indicated.  Draped over a small stool behind it were the garments he had ordered for her, made of lush fabrics beautifully sewn and decorated with intricate embroidery.  The chemise was of softest white linen with full sleeves and ribbon trim.  The gown was made of heavy Cardinal-red silk, tied just under the bosom.  Matching silken slippers accompanied the robe.

“Do you like your clothes?” Cesare called softly from across the room.

“I like them very well, my lord.  I never dreamed to be wearing such fine garments.”

“Then come out and let me see you.”

“But, Your Eminence, I am in _dishabille._   It would not be decent.”

“You wound me, Little Lamb.  Do you not believe that I have only your best interests at heart?  Do you not trust me, your shepherd?”

“Forgive me, my lord.  I will obey.”

When Luna slowly emerged from behind the screen, she was astonished to see that the Cardinal had removed his doublet, and wore only a snow-white shirt open nearly to his waist.  He had kicked off his boots and now sat slouched in the chair she had just vacated, one long leg flung over the arm.  His wide-spread thighs and forward-tipped pelvis casually displayed the prominent, highly embellished codpiece which decorated his close-fitting black leggings.  He sipped from a goblet held loosely in his fingers while his deep green eyes traveled over Luna’s body from head to toe. 

“You look much warmer in these clothes, Little Lamb.  Come and join me in a cup of mulled wine.  It will take the chill off.”

“Oh, I am quite comfortable now, I thank Your Eminence.  There is no need for…”

“What now, Luna?  What _now_ causes you to mistrust me?”

 “Apologies, my lord.  I do not wish to seem mistrustful.  Only that I fear to commit the sin of indulgence in strong drink.”

“My dear, I, your shepherd, offer you the wine.  Our Lord himself drank wine.  Where, then, is the sin?”

She curtseyed.

“Forgive me.  I am an ignorant peasant.”

“You have been badly treated by many, if not all, of the people in your life.  Small wonder you cannot trust.  But trust me.  Am I not a man of God?”

“I have no call to doubt the word of the noble Cardinal Borgia.  Of course I will trust you.”

Her ingenuous smile revealed a lovely dimple in her cheek which caused Cesare’s heart to skip.  He quickly recovered his ministerial composure and unfolded himself from the upholstered seat. 

“Here.  Sit and I will bring you a drink.”

She sank down into the chair and reached for the gilded cup he held out to her, bringing it to her soft lips.

“Do you like the wine, Little Lamb?” Cesare asked her.

“I’ve never before drunk it, my lord.  It is luscious.”

He pulled a chair over and seated himself across from her, his knees touching hers.  The flames from the fireplace caressed his flowing dark hair and beauteous profile with a golden radiance.  He refilled Luna’s cup from the bottle that he had carried with him.

“Have more.  Have all you want.  My Little Lamb must be shown that God dotes upon her as He does all His creatures.  It is my sweet duty to be His agent in this sacred office.”

 “You are a true priest of Our Lord to be so kind to me.”

Cesare leaned forward and stroked Luna’s soft hair, freed now from her maidservant’s cap and tumbling about her shoulders and bosom.  His open shirt fell away from his body, revealing his smooth, muscular chest and one beautiful small nipple.  He pretended not to notice her blush as she beheld this intimate glimpse of him.

“I am sorry you have not always been treated with the kindness you deserve,” he murmured to her, allowing his hand to slide down the length of her hair and onto her hands tucked decorously in her lap.  “Rest assured that I will care for you and cherish you with God’s holy love.  Are you content?  Is there anything you desire?  You have only to tell me and it is yours.”

“I confess, Your Eminence, that I am a little hungry.  I have not eaten in many hours while I wandered the streets.”

Gently pulling her to her feet, Cesare seated Luna at a small round table laid with a thick white cloth, upon which rested platters heaped with cheese, olives, fresh bread and fruit simmered in sweet syrup.  He smiled when he saw her eyes widen at the abundance before her.  She reached for a fragrant loaf but then hesitated.

“Eat, my Little Lamb,” Cesare crooned to her.  “Eat all you want.  Fear not that you might commit the sin of Gluttony.  I myself absolve you of such culpability.  You are hungry; you have been deprived.  No blame can be laid upon you for merely filling your empty belly.”

He picked up a small chunk of cheese and pressed it to her lips. He smiled coaxingly and opened his mouth to demonstrate to her what he wanted her to do. 

“Come along, Little Lamb.  Eat this.  For me.”

She parted her lips and let him slip the morsel into her mouth. 

“There, now,” he nodded in satisfaction. “Receive this as you would receive the Body of Christ.  Is not God’s love a sweet taste in your mouth?”

Her mouth full, she smiled shyly and bobbed her head.

“And there is much more love for you to savor,” he continued. “I myself will serve you, as Our Lord served his disciples. I will show my righteous love for you.”

“Am I really worthy of Divine love, Your Eminence?  Am I?”

“You are a child of God the same as I am.  We are all God’s children, and He loves each of us equally.  He admonishes us to love one another as He has loved us.  Now eat some more.  Have some more wine.  Recall that the Savior said ‘Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.’  Together let us celebrate His presence here with us.”

When Luna had eaten her fill and sighed with gratification, Cesare escorted her back to her chair by the fire and, sitting across from her as before, proffered another cup of warm wine to her, murmuring “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins.”

“You are so learned, my lord.  How your wisdom comforts me!”

“Little Lamb, I care very much for your comfort.  I would wash away the pain you have known just as Jesus washed away our sins.  Tell me now, my dear.  Has no one in your life ever shown you tenderness or affection?”

“Before my father died and left us penniless, my mother used to snuggle me on her lap and pet me.”

He took her small hand in his and leaned in towards her, his voice dropping to a velvety, ear-caressing purr.

“And do you miss that, my Little Lamb?  Being snuggled?  Being petted?”

She lowered her eyelashes and nodded wistfully.  So dazed was he by her yearning, winsome loveliness that he gasped.

“And might you like to be snuggled and petted now?  By me?”

Her head shot up, her eyes wide with shock.

“Your Eminence!” she cried out.

“Jesus said ‘Suffer the little children to come unto me.’  I would have you come unto me and welcome you as Our Lord did.  Poor Little Lamb!  You have been so mistreated that you cannot recognize that which is wholesome and natural and blessed in God’s eyes.  In His mercy, He gave us arms to embrace each other in chaste love.  Rest in my arms and be consoled.”

She gazed into the depths of his marvelous green eyes and saw tenderness there.  Tenderness and concern for her.  She allowed him to seat her on his lap and leaned her head against his shoulder.

“That’s right, Luna,” he encouraged her. “Be not afraid of me.  The men you have known have been brutes, but I am not a brute.  Let me embody for you God’s own Person in my actions toward you.”

He began to gently rock her as he would an infant, crooning to her, stroking her hair. Gratified when he heard her soft sigh, he pressed his lips to her forehead.

“This is righteous, Little Lamb.  This is a holy, blessed love.  This is how God intends for us to behave towards one another.  You believe me?”

He felt her head nod against his chest.

“I do, my lord,” she murmured.  “Our Lord is most solicitous of his children to want us to love one another.  And most tender to give us this pleasant way of doing so.”

Drowsy from the wine, drowsy from the heat of the fire, drowsy from the warmth of his body, she relaxed against him and slid her arm around his ribs. He wondered if she could feel his heart begin to hammer within him.

“Are you tired, Luna?” he whispered. 

“I am, Your Eminence.  I fear to seem rude and ungrateful to you, but my eyes are heavy indeed.”

“Then I must put you to bed, Little Lamb.  At once.”

She felt the strength and sinew of his arms as he stood and held her close to him while he walked with her to the huge canopied bed on its dias.  Pressed against his chest, she breathed in the scent of his body, clean and male and virile.  He carried her as if she were no heavier than a moonbeam in his grasp, light and ethereal, an angel, a celestial spirit. 

The bedclothes had already been turned down by a servant, so Cesare stood Luna by the side of the bed and untied her dressing gown, slipping it from her shoulders.  The silk whispered as it slid to the floor in a pool at her feet.  Accustomed by now to trust and obey the Cardinal, Luna meekly allowed him to pick her up and lay her upon the bed, drawing the covers over her.  He bent and tenderly kissed her cheek and then backed away, smiling as she stretched herself voluptuously on the finely woven sheets.  She turned over on her side, cuddling the plump feather pillow beneath her head.  She relaxed completely and gave in to her weariness.

Cesare went around to the other side of the bed, quickly stripped off his clothes and slid in beneath the blankets.  When Luna felt his bare body press against her back and his arms encircle her, she jerked, startled wide awake.

“My lord,” she breathed, her voice quivering. “What are you doing?”

“Getting into my bed, Little Lamb.”

She struggled to free herself from his embrace and sat up, her face frozen into a horrified mask.  He caught her wrist and stopped her from leaping out of the bed.

“Don’t run away from me, Luna.”

“Your Eminence,” she stammered. “You are …naked.”

“It is my usual state when I retire for the night.  Does it make you fearful?”

“In truth, it does, Sir.”

Smiling reassuringly, he took both of her hands in his.

“Come, Little Lamb.  Let us pray together.”

He knelt upon the bed and encouraged Luna to do the same.  Blushing, trying not to look at his exposed body, she got to her knees, facing him.  Bowing her head, she folded her hands together.  He wrapped his fingers around hers and began to recite.

“Pater noster, qui es in caelis: sanctificetur Nomen Tuum…”

His voice trailed off and he frowned.

“Luna, why are you not praying with me?”

“Your pardon, my lord, but I do not speak Latin.  I never learned.”

“Well, we shall speak to God in our common language then, confident that He will listen and be gratified.”

“He will find my humble prayer worthy, Your Eminence?  Are you sure?”

“Perfectly sure, my Lamb.  Come, now.  Open your heart to the Lord.  Speak your prayers aloud.”

“I don’t know what to say.  I don’t know any prayers.”

“Just talk to God as you would to your father.”

“My lord, I don’t really remember speaking to my father.  He died when I was four years old and…”

Cesare closed his eyes and clicked his tongue in pity.

“Poor child!  Your life has been one of poverty indeed, both of body and spirit.”

He edged closer to her and enfolded her in his arms, drawing her head onto his shoulder.  He could feel her begin to tremble and made haste to reassure her.

“Pretend that I am Jesus wrapping you in His love, holding you in His sacred hands, those hands that were pierced by nails for our sake.  Close your eyes and just say what you feel.  Have faith that He is listening.”

“I would like to, Your Eminence, but I can feel your nakedness against me and it is…distracting…”

“Pay it no mind, Little Lamb.  Just as Adam and Eve were unaware of their nudity in the Garden, so let it be with you.  Speak your heart to The Savior.  He is waiting.”

Her voice was soft, childlike, when she began her prayer.

“Lord Jesus, my name is Luna.  I am your most humble servant, yet you have smiled upon me this night and placed me in the care of Your noble Cardinal Borgia, who has been kind to me and taken me in and fed me and warmed me.  Please send countless blessings to him for he is truly a saintly person.  I ask you to forgive my countless sins so that I might someday be with You in heaven and worship You forever.  Amen.”

Cesare was greatly moved by the young girl’s earnest sentiments.

“Little Lamb, you do me too much credit. I am no saint,” he protested mildly.

“Oh, no, Sir.  You are too modest.  You have done so much for me.  You have shown me that God truly loves me.”

“If you have come to know that, then I am glad.  But, Little Lamb, I confess that I am feeling very chilled.  Will you get under the blankets with me and allow me to share your warmth?  Be my Abishag, my Shunammite woman?”

“Who is Abishag, my lord?”

“Have you not read scripture, Little Lamb?”

“No, Sir, for I cannot read.  I only know what I have heard at Mass.”

Cesare shook his head sadly and stroked Luna’s hair.

“Abishag was a beautiful young woman who was given unto David, King of Israel, to lie in bed with him and keep him warm.  As I would have you do for me.  This is as God instructs us.  That we take care of each other.”

“It’s the least I can do, Your Eminence, to repay you for your kindness.”

Under the bedclothes, Cesare snuggled tightly against Luna, relishing the heat of her body through the fine fabric of her chemise.  He wrapped her in his arms.

“Am I doing good for you, my lord?” she asked him sweetly. “For if I am, then hold me even closer to you.”

“Truth to tell, I am still quite cold. It is said that body heat is best shared skin to skin.  Would you…?”

As eager to please as a young puppy, she sat up and pulled her chemise over her head, letting it fall to the floor.  Before she settled back down next to him under the blankets, he caught a flash of her lovely young body with its round, ivory breasts and smooth, silken arms.  His tongue cleaved to the roof of his mouth.

“How may I best attend to you, my lord?”  Her soft voice tugged on his distracted mind.

“Lie close to me, Little Lamb.  Press your skin to mine.”

Her face radiant with the thought of fulfilling a divine mandate, she squirmed against his torso and allowed him to slide his long bare leg between her thighs.  He ran his hands slowly up and down the graceful curve of her spine.  She sighed with pleasure and tucked her head under his chin.

 “God’s love is very fine, indeed,” she marveled, causing him to smile. 

He eased his pelvis away from her belly, not wanting her to feel his state of arousal.  He was not yet ready to reveal himself to her.  Go slowly, he told himself.  No need to rush.  This beautiful, tender creature was worth his utmost patience and effort.  He drew a long breath to calm himself.

“Little Lamb,” he whispered. “When your master demanded that you lie with him, did he hurt you?  Cause you pain in any way?”

He felt her body tense as she appeared to remember.  She raised her luminous, trusting eyes to his, and his stomach flip-flopped within him.

“He did, my lord.  He would grab me by the arm and throw me down upon his bed and push my skirt above my waist and take me.  It always hurt, and he would slap me if I cried.  If he finished too soon to suit himself, or had difficulty finishing at all because he had been drinking, he would curse me and beat me, saying it was my fault.  Your Eminence, I knew nothing of what he was doing to me or what he expected from me.  I know God ordained that Man and Woman lie together, but is it expected that Woman know pain from it?  I have heard the priest in church say that, because of her sin in the Garden, Eve must bear children in travail, but does God demand that she conceive them in pain as well?”

Cesare raised himself up on one elbow and regarded Luna steadily.  He stroked her cheek, allowing his hand to slide down to her alabaster shoulder and remain there.

“Dear Lamb,” he murmured, his tone caressing her ear. “God has given Man and Woman to each other to love and cherish.  It is a perversion of that love for a man to do other than pay homage to his lover, to give her other than pleasure and tenderness.”

“I have never known such gentle things, my lord.  Only pain and shame and humiliation.”

Cesare struggled to stop his hand from trembling when he drew her head against his chest and caressed her loose, fair hair. 

“That is not what God intended, Little Lamb.  He made Man and Woman to love each other and take pleasure in each other.  He made men strong in body not to be able to overpower and abuse women but to cherish and protect them.”

“Truly? Men ought to be tender to women?”

“Just as Our Savior gave up His very life to redeem His sacred bride, the Church, so should Man be willing to do the same for his own Woman.”

“No man has ever laid a kindly hand upon me, Cardinal.”

“I will, my Little Lamb.  This very night, I will love you as a man ought to love a woman.”

She raised her head and stared up at his face, wide-eyed with shock.

“You, my lord?  But that is impossible.  Are you not forbidden congress with women?”

“Yes, of course, but this is not congress for the purpose of carnal pleasure.  I would instruct and enlighten you, that you might know God’s plan.  It is my spiritual duty to do so.”

“You would do this for me?”

“Yes, my dear Lamb.  As God would have me do.”

Luna lowered her head and began to weep softly. 

“You are so good, Your Eminence, to deem me worthy of your attention.”

He brushed away her tears, kissing her cheek.

“Hush, my sweet.  You are God’s own, and worthy of His favor.  Now, let’s begin.  I would know first if you are at ease.  Are you warm enough?  Hungry or thirsty?”

“I am completely content, my lord, and eager for you to instruct me.  I praise the Lord for placing me in your hands this night.”

Cesare smiled as he gazed into Luna’s guileless eyes.  He lowered her onto the pillows and brought her hand to his lips, kissing each of her fingertips, one by one.  

“Our Lord, in His caring for us, has given Man and Woman physical bodies with which they may please each other.  Lovers may look upon each other and see the beauty there.  They may feel, smell and even taste each other and be gratified to hear the sounds of pleasure they make.  I would show you this.”

He pushed the blankets down to his waist.

“Up to now, Little Lamb, you have learned that the body of a man is to be feared and despised.  Now learn another truth.”

In the semi-darkness of the room, the blaze from the hearth gilded his shoulders, rendered molten gold by the firelight, and the rich, dark hair that grazed over them.  He moved in closer, his heated, wine-scented breath causing gooseflesh to rise upon her skin.

In a low, velvet purr, he began to recite to her passages from “The Song of Solomon.”

_“Behold, you are beautiful, my love.  Behold, you are beautiful. Your eyes are doves behind your veil…Your lips are like scarlet thread.  Your mouth is lovely…Your two breasts are like two fawns that are twins of a roe,which feed among the lilies…You are all beautiful, my love.  There is no spot in you…You have ravished my heart with one of your eyes…How much better is your love than wine!  The fragrance of your perfumes than all manner of spices!”_

At the sound of his words, her lips parted and her breasts began to rise and fall as her breathing grew faster.  He began to kiss her, first her cheeks then her eyes, then her throat and shoulders, following his lips with his hands, gently caressing her soft flesh.  He pushed the blankets down to the foot of the bed so he could feast his eyes upon her body, displayed before him.  She was tiny and slight, but with swelling breasts and a delectable, ripe belly adorned with a small thatch of fair curls at the delta between her rounded thighs.  He could not hold back a gasp of delight.

_“Behold, you are beautiful, my love.  Behold, you are beautiful.”_

He cradled her face between his hands and pressed his mouth to hers, kissing her with increasing intensity.

_“Behold, you are beautiful, my love.  Behold, you are beautiful.”_

As he continued to kiss her, he turned her over upon her back.  She lay quietly, gazing up into his face.

“Are you afraid of me, Little Lamb?” he asked her softly, interlacing his fingers with hers. “For you are trembling.”

“No, Your Eminence.  I am grateful for your lesson.”

“Then look upon me and tell me what you see.”

Shyly, she rose onto her side and allowed herself to look at him, from his dark brown curls, down to the beautiful sculpture of his face with its deep green eyes and bow-shaped mouth, over the smooth expanse of his lean, hard torso.  She turned away when her gaze encountered his belly.  He slipped his finger under her chin and turned her face towards him.

“Why do you stop, Little Lamb?  Do I not please you?”

“You please me too much, my lord.  I feel I commit sacrilege to look upon your most intimate…secrets.”

“God has commanded me, as your shepherd, to exalt you and lift you up, that you may know of His love for you.  Therefore, be not ashamed to look upon me, for I am God’s own instrument, given to you for your enlightenment.”

“I have always been taught that it is a sin to look upon a man.”

Cesare shook his head and spoke benevolently.

“Recall that we are manifesting God’s love by our actions.  We bring to mind the divine gift He gave to Adam and Eve before they displeased Him with their disobedience.  In His mercy, He allowed humankind to retain this gift and continue to embody His sanctified love with its practice.”

“This is truly sacred love?”

“Most sacred.  Created by God Himself.”

He slowly kissed her throat, moving down to her breasts. 

_“Behold, you are beautiful, my love.  Behold, you are beautiful.”_

He rested his head against her bosom.

_“Your two breasts are like two fawns that are twins of a roe, which feed among the lilies…”_

He circled her nipples with his fingertips, first the left one, then the right.  She gasped and caught a handful of his thick, dark curls. 

“My lord,” she whispered. “What is it you do?”

“I honor your beauty, Little Lamb.  Has no one ever done such as this to you before?”

“Not so tenderly, Sir.  Not with such pleasure for me.”

“Whatever has been done to you before, put it from your mind.  Let me teach you to enjoy your body, the body God has given you.  We serve Him when we please each other.”

“Be it so, Your Eminence.  Let us honor the Lord as He wishes.”

Cesare smiled then, a slow, broad grin. 

“As I am your lover this night, you must call me by my name.”

“You would permit me to call you ‘Cesare,’ Your Eminence?”

“Insist upon it, my dear.  But I will continue to call you my ‘Little Lamb,’ for such you are.  A sweet, beautiful lamb.”

He caressed her upturned face, his hand sliding down over her ivory throat and shoulders and breasts.

“ _Behold, you are beautiful, my love.  Behold, you are beautiful.”_

Lowering her eyelashes, she blushed, roses blooming in her cheeks, taking his breath away.  He repeated the verse.

“ _Behold, you are beautiful, my love.  Behold, you are beautiful.”_

“You are too kind, Your Em…Cesare.  You make me believe I am beautiful.”

“You are.  God has granted you great beauty, of both body and spirit.  I am honored to awaken you to an awareness of this.”

He moved his body overtop of hers, causing her thighs to part beneath him.  He whispered to her.

_“Behold, you are beautiful, my love.  Behold, you are beautiful.”_

His kisses aroused her and she circled his ribs with her arms, pulling him harder against her.  Her breath became rapid. In her eagerness, she ran her hands down the long curve of his spine and wound her legs around his.  Beside his ear, she murmured his name and presented her soft mouth to his lips.  When he pressed his belly to hers, pushed his throbbing shaft against her tender cleft, she surprised him by raising her pelvis and squirming against him, eager for the feel of him.  He raised himself up, braced upon one forearm, and covered her throat and breasts with kisses, drawing her nipple into his mouth and suckling hard.  She sighed an appreciative moan and caressed his hair.  He reached down between their heated bodies and stroked the soft curls of her muff, seeking the entrance to her gateway.  Breaking the suction on her nipple, he raised his head and locked his eyes with hers, his chest heaving as he fingered her, rubbing the pink bud of her clitoris.

“Oh, Cesare,” she gasped. “It is too much.  I will swoon.  I will die.”

“You won’t die,” he reassured her with a soft chuckle. “I know how to take care of you.  God shows me the way.  Place yourself in my hands with complete trust.”

“I trust you,” she sighed.

Her wide blue eyes gazed into his and the power of their innocence reached down into his cock, causing it to ache with desire.

_“Behold, you are beautiful, my love.  Behold, you are beautiful.”_

He began sucking her nipples again, while teasing her vault with his long, nimble fingers.  She wriggled in delight and covered his hand with her own, urging him on, growing wetter and slicker at his touch.  He could feel her heart pounding and knew the time had come for consummation.

“Little Lamb,” he whispered to her. “Are you ready?  Will you give yourself to me, body and soul?  Be mine completely?”

“If God approves.  If this is what God wants me to do.”

“He does.  He wants you to surrender entirely to me.  Not like you surrendered to your master, with just your body, but to receive me with your body and your mind and your soul.  As you would surrender to God Himself.”

“Yes, oh, yes, Cesare.  Let me be God’s obedient handmaid.  Take me.  Make me His own.”

“You give yourself freely?”

“In perfect faith and trust, I surrender my body and my will to the Lord of all.”

“Then thus shall it be.”

He knelt between her parted thighs and gripped his cock, iron and velvet , with a sticky bead of semen oozing from the tip, and rubbed it over her clitoris, making her cry out with delight.

“Give me, give me, Cesare,” she pleaded, digging her fingers into his back, pressing her pelvis against his.

He made entry just inside of her, watching her face for her reaction, for signs of pain, of fright, of a change of heart.  He saw none of these—only feverish desire, only want and wanting.

_“Behold, you are beautiful, my love.  Behold, you are beautiful.”_

He thrust himself into her up to the hilt, sliding easily, so well had he prepared her.  Her legs wrapped around his hips and her belly rose to meet his.  A howling began to sound in his ears, and he realized it was his own breathing.  He kissed her throat and her shoulders, his mouth devouring her, his tongue leaving trails of saliva on her soft, ivory flesh.  She moaned beneath him, her nipples pressing against his chest, begging him for more—harder, faster.  Suddenly she froze, her entire body going rigid and she cried out, once, then again, pulling on his hair, clasping her thighs more tightly around his hips.  He stopped moving within her and held her, rocking her against his panting chest, snuggling her head beneath his chin.

“That’s it, my Lamb,” he crooned to her. “Know the ecstasy of God’s presence.”

Going limp in his arms, she panted. 

“Is that what I have felt, Cesare?  God’s presence?”

“Yes, Sweetest.  He has accepted your surrender and shows you His approval.  Now we must complete the lesson.  Through me, God will bestow His blessing upon you.”

“Yes, oh, please.  I long for God’s blessing.”

Cesare stretched his long body over Luna’s and resumed thrusting, elated to feel her arms encircle him and her legs twine around his.  Having brought her to fulfillment, he now gave free rein to his own desires.  Her vault was hot and slick and satiny and he lost himself completely, drowning in the scent and sensation of her.  Beneath him, she gasped in wonder as she felt his cock swell and twitch, and then pulled him deeper into her when he blurted out an obscenity and ejaculated, his seed gushing with ferocious force.  He collapsed onto her pliant body and lay in her embrace, nuzzling her until his breathing slowed.  When he withdrew from her, she mewed a tiny protest.

“Must we stop now, Cesare?  Is the lesson finished?”

He snuggled her into the crook of his arm, her head on his chest.

“My Little Lamb.  Now that you have felt God’s love, would you have more of it?”

“Yes.  More and more and more.”

He laughed lightly and kissed her nose.

“Then know you that God’s love is infinite and you may have as much of it as you wish.”

 

The gentle, rosy light of dawn was filtering through the curtains around Cesare’s bed when he awoke to find Luna lying beside him, watching him quietly, running her fingertips across his naked chest.  They lay together tangled in each other’s arms, sated, spent.  His cock rested against her flawless thigh, leaving a glistening trail of seed, which she caught upon her fingertip and brought to her lips.  He groaned with both lust and exhaustion.

“Have pity, Woman.  I cannot give you any more.”

She raised her head from his bare chest and scowled indignantly. 

“I thought you said that God’s love was infinite.”

“It is, but mine, alas, is not.  I must have some time to recover.”

She huffed a disappointed snort and lowered her head again, kissing his nipple and circling it with the tip of her pink tongue.

“You are so beautiful, Cesare,” she purred. “How I love being here in your bed.”

He coaxed her to lie down with her head upon his pillow.

“I love it too, Little Lamb.  You make me happy.”

She sighed, a sweet, delicate sound, like music, and slid her dainty foot down the length of his leg.  Cesare bent his head to kiss Luna’s soft, luminous hair and give her a gentle squeeze.

“Were you frightened at being out on the streets at night, my love?” he murmured to her.

She burrowed her nose against his throat and shrugged her exquisite, bare shoulders.

“Of course not.  I knew I was never for a moment out of Micheletto’s sight, so I was perfectly safe.  But my darling Cardinal, even though I enjoy this game of role playing as much as you do, I am not going to do it ever again if you continue to expect me to go out in the cold without shoes and an adequate shawl.  I nearly froze to death last night.”

He embraced her, stricken with remorse.

“Oh, my poor little sister!  How thoughtless and inconsiderate of me to expect that of you.  I am so very sorry.  I’ll never ask that of you again.  How may I make it up to you?”

“I’d like a white pearl ring, dear brother.  Just like the one you have with the black pearl.”

“You shall have it.  Now, come.  Let’s get a bit of rest.  Today promises to be busy in Consistory.  Father is accusing a number of Cardinals of plotting against him and I must be able to look appropriately outraged.  And you, my Lucrezia, will need to appear to be an innocent virgin during your annulment proceedings.”

“Do you think I will be able to pull that off, Cesare?  Convince everyone that I am a complete innocent?”

“Oh, my love!  You will be a master at it.  Last night, you almost convinced me!”


End file.
